Former ACA director of investigations Abdul Razak Idris told the High Court today he had cleared Anwar Ibrahim of allegations of stashing RM3 billion in foreign accounts and having foreign links to Western interests.

Abdul Razak, 60, who is now retired but a director of several companies, said ACA had investigated the matter following allegations made in a statutory declaration by former assistant governor of Bank Negara Abdul Murad Khalid.

He said a team of ACA officers went to Singapore and United Kingdom to probe the allegations.

“We went to meet Murad and several British witnesses. But the investigations resulted in ‘No case’ against Anwar pertaining to allegations made in Murad’s statutory declaration.”

“Further, I concluded that the allegations contained in the SD (statutory declaration) were baseless and unsustainable, and I consequently ordered that the investigations be closed.”

Murad signed the statutory declaration on Oct 29, 1999 – about one month after Anwar was arrested following his sacking as deputy prime minister in early September that year.

In the declaration, Murad claimed there were 20 master accounts established for Anwar by his cronies and believed the amount to be more than RM3 billion.

Abdul Razak, who was the second witness called after Anwar, then submitted his own statutory declaration on the matter and tendered it in court.

The former top ACA investigator was testifying in a RM100 million defamation suit by Anwar against New Straits Times Press (M) Bhdand its former group editor-in-chief, Abdullah Ahmad.

The alleged defamatory article, ‘Anwar’s link to US lobbyist', was published on March 2, 2002.

The opposition leader filed the suit on July 4, 2003, where the NSTParticle was based on another article - ‘The Bush Administration’s dubious envoy to Taiwan’ - that was published in the political weekly magazine New Republic’s March 2002 issue. Abdul Razak told the court on being cross-examined by NSTP‘s lead counsel Nad Segaram that he had directed the investigations following the allegations made by Murad. He admitted he did not carry out the probe himself.

Abdul Razak said he went to Singapore to interview Murad, as well as to the United Kingdom to interview two European witnesses. However, he admitted he did not go to the United States or direct investigations to be conducted there.

He said he also directed investigations on one Douglas H Paal, who headed the Asia Pacific Policy Centre (APPC), a United States lobbyist group, following Murad’s allegations.

However, Abdul Razak said he did not meet or interview Paal, or directed the ACA to go to the US as he found it unnecessary.

The witness said after the ACA completed investigations, a copy of its findings was handed to the senior federal counsel in the attorney-general’s chambers.

Responding to a question from Karpal during re-examination, Abdul Razak said after handing over the papers, and holding discussions, he and AG’s chambers found there was no case against the former deputy premier.

Anwar: Article affected his dignity and standing Anwar said the defamatory article made him out to be a person with no integrity, morals and dignity, bereft of principles; disloyal to Malaysia, dishonest; a corrupt and untrustworthy leader and politician.

“It also suggested that I am an American agent and a person who has abused my position for my personal gains. I felt defamed by these paragraphs and in the full context of the entire article.

“It had exposed me to hatred, ridicule or contempt in the minds of reasonable men,” he said, adding that he could not defend himself then as he was imprisoned in Sungai Buloh in 2002.

Asked by Karpal (below) whether he challenged the veracity of the article, Anwar said he had challenged the Malaysian government, the prime minister and cabinet to conduct an independent inquiry into the said allegations made by Murad, and into the wealth of the present and former leaders.

“I also made a clarion call to the authorities to investigate the same and also demanded the setting up of a Commission of Inquiry into all allegations contained in Murad’s statutory declaration. In fact, Murad had also publicly denied free consent to the statutory declaration,” the opposition leader said.

Anwar, who is also Permatang Pauh MP said he filed the action as the article contained false and baseless allegations against him, and he complained about the 10 paragraphs containing the defamatory words.

“The article is a scurrilous attack on my character. I was in prison. Newspapers owned by Umno and the ruling alliance were used to attack me and my character.”

“I am defenceless because the newspapers would not even carry a word of my denial. This said article is just one in a series of character assassination against me,” he said. Cross-examined by Nad, Anwar said the Prime Minister’s office then, along with the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS), had established ties with APPC to establish better rapport with Asia Pacific leaders and in particular from the US.

“APPC along with ISIS (was) tasked is to invite US congress leaders to come to a series of dialogues here,” he said.

These events, the opposition leader said, would be officiated by the then Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and not by him. “I knew my place,” he quipped in responding to a question by Nad.

Anwar admitted he knew Paal and agreed that the APPC head had ran an article favouring him (Anwar) following his arrest in 1998 by the government.

“It was not only him who had written such articles on me but there are hundreds of articles in Arabic and Chinese. This is just one of them,” he said.

Article was based on New Republic

Rose Ismail, formerly the New Straits Times managing editor, who wrote the article said she had based it on an article that was published on the New Republic article.

“I found the magazine to be a reputable publication when I was doing a Masters in Journalism at Boston University in 1984. I have continued to subscribe to it as it contained stories of substance.

She agreed she did not contact Anwar to verify the facts as her intention was merely to highlight the New Republic article, and that the NST article did not carry her name as the article was based on another report.

“It was not an article that carried my own views or comments on the subject matter of the same. In circumstances where an article is based on another article that has already been published, it was not always the practise of the NSTP to set out the name of the author of the article.

Cross-examined by Karpal, Rose agreed the article contains serious allegations made against Anwar and she agreed she did check and speak to people before writing it.

Rose however admitted she did not speak with Anwar as he was in prison and that she did not attempt to contact him through Anwar’s lawyers.

Karpal: It could possibly have been done

Rose: Possibly

Karpal: Did you verify its contents with Murad or with Paal?

Rose: I could not locate Murad or Paal, I tried to look at the APPC website for contact details but it was not possible.

Karpal: So you ran the report without verifying the truth of the article

Rose: I would say I did, I (verified) through earlier reports including from the US congressional website based on its hearing and reports.

Karpal: You make allegations recklessly without taking steps to verify the truth?

Now that DPM Muhyddin Yassin has challenged Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim to account for that RM3billion held in EIGHT ACCOUNTS, and Anwar had thrown the gauntlet down challenging Muhyiddin to also open his bank accounts for public scrutiny, it’s OPEN SEASON for us to dig into the archives to see if there is any valid case to answer by Barisan Nasional leaders, past or present.

Just for the record, Muhyiddin had quoted a former assistant governor in Bank Negara, Abdul Murad Khalid, in reviving an old issue; this source later recanted that he had been forced to make the allegations against then deputy prime minster, OR ELSE!

From fellow blogger anaksungaiderhaka@gmail.com, I copied the following:

Former ACA director of investigations Abdul Razak Idris told the High Court today he had cleared Anwar Ibrahim of allegations of stashing RM3 billion in foreign accounts and having foreign links to Western interests.

Abdul Razak, 60, who is now retired but a director of several companies, said ACA had investigated the matter following allegations made in a statutory declaration by former assistant governor of Bank Negara Abdul Murad Khalid.

He said a team of ACA officers went to Singapore and United Kingdom to probe the allegations.

“We went to meet Murad and several British witnesses. But the investigations resulted in ‘No case’ against Anwar pertaining to allegations made in Murad’s statutory declaration.”

“Further, I concluded that the allegations contained in the SD (statutory declaration) were baseless and unsustainable, and I consequently ordered that the investigations be closed.” – Malaysiakini

Wala! So funny of Muhyiddin to forget that!

Furthermore, you all know the Prime Minister then was Dr Mahathir Mohamad, so all the ministerial “misconduct” would only be exposed when he wanted it to, just like the alleged “Sodomy I”, don’t we all know that?

Desi combed the cobwebs off at his Midnight Voices’ abode, and since he’s not of the self-exiled blogger rank to be able to hide overseas, I am writing on “home soil” and be prepared for any repercussions. But the royal one in London challenged the former DPM Anwar to “debate” with him — I’m sure you remember the wikileaks forum?

Humble me, unlike you know who…

I shall not exalt myself to challenge Muhyiddin for a debate.

I nevertheless like RPK also “retrieved” an old issue to ask MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek, a former Health Minister (turned Hel minster following the sex tape leak more like sabotage from within his party?), and his current deputy-cum-Health minister Liow Tiong Lai, to answer. Maybe Liow would be grateful to Desi to divert attention from the WWW15 shenanigan lurching from one lie to cover a smaller lie followed by a BIGGER LIOW– oops, BIGGER LIE!

Just for backgrounding, THAT POST which the news portal freemalaysiatoday closely associated with m2day has cooked into a news item — or is it history? — here’s just reproducing the headline and first para, for I ain’t going to publicise RPK and his associated press, don’t you dare ask why!

Anwar covered up Bank Negara losses, says RPK

ARCHIVES 2012

Tuesday, 05 June 2012 Super Admin

The influential blogger said the former deputy prime minister had absolved Bank Negara of any wrong-doing in 1994, which prompted Lim Kit Siang to accuse Anwar Ibrahim of lying.

OKAY, after a not so “cheong hei” intro, I then turned to my archives to reprise the following post with only the RELEVANT EXTRACTS:

Is someone talking crap?

There is more than meets the eye nowadays when you listen to government leaders speaking, especially when overseas and addressing only certain targeted groups…

When I read the following, my reaction is whispering to myself: Is he talking crap?

From The Star,

Wednesday May 3, 2006

Money is not everything students told

KUALA LUMPUR: Money is not everything, Malaysian medical students in Britain have been told.

Higher Education Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamedsaid the students must have a strong sense of nationalism and patriotism, and should return home to serve the country after completing their studies,

He said that despite the lower financial reward in the government service, the students should be proud to serve the Government, just like many other doctors who continued to be in the civil service although they could have opted for private practice.

"As a developing country, it is impossible for Malaysia to match the salaries of doctors in Britain. We don't have such deep pockets.

"Money should not be everything," he told about 100 Malaysian students at a dialogue organised by the Malaysian Students Department in London yesterday.

Mustapa was responding to a student's query on last month's survey by the UK Executive Council for Malaysian Students which found that low pay and long working hours in government service were among the reasons Malaysian medical students were reluctant to return home after completing their studies in Britain.

The post continued with:

“From the frontpage of NEW SUNDAY TIMES November 6, 2005 (Bravo! for a news scoop, the SundayStar never had a word…)

SHOCKING

RM100million down the drain It’s a tale of money down the drain. Malaysian students, on public scholarships who studied in Ireland at a cost of between RM60million and RM100million to become doctors, have turned their backs on the country.

SHOCKING

‘They have also become a bad influence on otrher Malaysians pursuing medical degress overseas’

The report had quoted Dr Chua Soi Lek, Health Minister, talking about Malaysians on scholarships studying in Ireland who NEVER RETURNED TO SERVE THEIR BONDS!

Now Desi’s Q — which I think many fellow Malaysians would like YB DATUK MUSTAPA MOHAMED to enlioghten us, the taxpapers:

What has the Government done/ will the Government do to punish these ungrateful, delinquent Malaysians who broke their bonds?

I know had these scholarships gone to other Malaysians who studied under FAM scholarhsips (FAM: Father and Mother, not any Government or sports body, you dumbasses!), everyone of them would have been so grateful to have saved RM750,000 to RM1million (Yes, that’s what’s spent on a Medical/DEntal/Pharmacy Course overseas!), they would have gladly returned to NegaraKU to serve out the BOND, never mind the pur[pported “low pay”. As I said in my earlier post, IT”S NOT ABOUT THE “LOW PAY” — IT”S MAINLY ABOUT THE RACED-BASED POLITICS!

I know of many parents selling or mortgaging their second house, even their only house, to enable a child to study medicine/dentistry/pharmacy in Australia, New Zealand, where the exchange rate is already lower thah in UK/ IUSA, and they have top spend some RM750,000. Some have had to borrow from the banks.

STOP TALKING CRAP!

So Mr Minister, STOP TALKING CRAP ABOUT HAVING “a strong sense of nationalism and patriotism” … who would put the food on the table if these graduates with RM500,000 debts to service to serve in NegaraKu with a starting pay of about RM2,000-RM2,500 which is not even enough to pay for the bank’s interest?

Meanwhile, can you go after those “unpatriotic” bond-breakers?!

DESIDERATA: I guess I must honour the two UMNO bigwig ministers (make it THREE if Muhyiddin wanna join the funD!) too by asking them — Mustapa and current Higher Education Minister Khaled Nordin — to also join the exalted position of Dr Chua, and minister Liow to give straight answers to the following questions:

1. What is the status of those 70-odd (that number is based on my memory recall okay, so I stand corrected! I regret I couldn’t retrieve the full NST report because my laptop kaputed recently!) students who, as described by Dr Chua, refused to come back to Malaysia to serve their bond?

2. Subsequent to that “batch” of scholarship students sent overseas for medical studies referred to by Chua, how many more Malaysians benefited from similar government or government-linkedf scholarships BUT FAIL TO RETURN HOME TO SERVE THE BONDS IF GOVERNED BY THE SCHOLARSHIPS?

3. Would the BN government which flags itself as a “caring government looking after the people’s interest” consider a proposal from Desi? — THAT the government consider reimbursing all family-funded medicate graduates, whether from local or overseas universities, who are now in Malaysia serving fellow Malaysians (YES, THEY ARE MORE PATRIOTIC THAN THOSE BOND-BREAKING IDIOTS ANYTIME, IMHO!) at least HALF OF THEIR STUDY EXPENSES, like a ballpark figure of RM250,000.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has styled himself a reformer, but his government’s prosecution of protesters shows he still has a long way to go.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak appears determined to give himself a political black eye. On June 13, government prosecutors will haul into court 10 leaders of Bersih, a coalition of civil society groups campaigning to clean up the country's corrupt elections commission. The government is demanding damages for destruction to public property during a clash between Bersih demonstrators and police in Kuala Lumpur on April 28. At least 100,000 people marched for clean elections in the Malaysian capital that day, while tens of thousands more joined protests in 11 other cities across the country and 80 cities around the world. Whether or not the government wins compensation in court, however, no amount of money will undo the damage it is inflicting upon its own reputation by pursuing the case.

The April 28 demonstrations were a stunning show of discontent in a country where protests are rarely tolerated. In half a century, Malaysia has advanced from a poor British colony with a plantation economy to an ambitious, middle-income nation with science parks, cybercities and skyscrapers. But in a trade-off typical of Asia, the Barisan National coalition, which has ruled the country since independence in 1957, curtails civil liberties and keeps a tight rein on political opposition in exchange for delivering prosperity. That governing model, however, contains the seeds of its own decay. Malaysia's successful development "translates into a better-educated electorate who have more sophisticated demands and expectations," political scientist Prof. Farish Noor tells TIME.

In recent years, the government has found it increasingly difficult to meet those expectations. According to World Bank data on the Gini coefficient, a measure of wealth inequality, the gap between rich and poor in Malaysia is larger than it is in neighboring Thailand, where inequality has been a factor driving civil unrest and political violence in recent years. Since the beginning of the global economic crisis in late 2008, Noor says there is also a "growing anxiety" among the middle classes in Malaysia "who feel their jobs and economic opportunities are threatened."

Keenly aware of the escalating problems, Najib has tried to present himself as a reformer. The steps he has taken so far, however, haven't done much to improve BN's image as increasingly corrupt, ill-equipped to deal with global economic complexities and out of touch with the aspirations of significant segments of the population. In 2008, BN was shocked when opposition parties captured five of the country's 13 states in national elections—the worst showing in the coalition's history. If voters are more dissatisfied now, they are also more frustrated: few can see how real change can be achieved as long as the BN controls access to the media and elections continue to be riddled with irregularities. Najib's attempts at reform "ring hollow when the electoral system remains flawed," Datuk Ambiga Sreenavasan, Bersih chairperson one of the defendants in the case brought by the government, tells TIME. "The stark reality is that genuine reform will not benefit those in power."

(PHOTOS: Living in Malaysia's Melting Pot)

Najib has received credit for repealing the draconian Internal Security Act that was used to suppress dissent. But he then turned around and decided to prosecute Bersih leaders over the violence on April 28. Phil Robertson of Human Rights Watch contends that video evidence shows security forces were actually responsible for the clashes. The forces initially allowed demonstrators into Merdeka (Independence) Square, which the government had previously declared off limits, and then began attacking the demonstrators with tear gas and batons for breaching the area. "If the prime minister was a true reformer, he would have condemned this violence and called for an independent inquiry by the Human Rights Commission,'' Sreenavasan says.

The irony is that Sreenavsan believes Najib truly wants to be a reformer, but is constrained by the realities of his governing coalition–he relies heavily on the support of politicians who control rural provinces in a semi-feudal style. To appease rural voters, Najib and his coalition have showered them with populist policies, such as a new minimum wage that will raise incomes for an estimated 3.2 million people and a 13% pay rise for civil servants. By contrast, they have ignored Bersih's eight demands for freer and fairer elections, such as cleaning the voter rolls of fake names.

Enacting electoral reforms would benefit the government. The coalition would probably still prevail at the ballot box because of its populism and emerge with a stronger mandate because it obtained its victory fair and square. Instead, the rulers are opting to suppress Bersih. That will only serve to stoke a political pressure cooker, deepen divisions and undercut the legitimacy of the government. "This is nothing less than a battle for the political soul of Malaysia,'' Robertson says. No matter the outcome of the court case, it's a battle that is far from over.

A sonic boom has been blamed for tremors that were felt by residents across the north of Scotland.

He said: "Grampian Police can confirm that following the numerous reports from members of the public who felt 'tremors' during the evening of Tuesday, May 22, the British Geological Survey have reported no significant seismic activity. No reports of injuries or damage have been received.

Tremors can be caused by seismic events, like earthquakes, but can also be the result of sonic booms produced by high-velocity aircraft.

Riddle of the massive sonic boom that the north east of England mistook for an earthquake

Locals in Northumberland had called police after buildings shook and loud rumbling was heard at around 3.15pm.

'The observations received are similar to those which have been received previously for sonic boom. RAF Kinloss were contacted and have advised that there were two military jets on exercise in the area at the time.'